SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners aren’t officially saying they’ve landed free agent pitcher Jeff Weaver for 2007, but they’re giving every indication that he’ll become a Mariner soon.
Weaver has agreed to a one-year contract worth $8.325 million, plus incentives worth up to $1 million, and the Mariners plan to announce the signing on Tuesday after he undergoes a physical exam.
General manager Bill Bavasi spoke in general terms about Weaver on Saturday at the team’s FanFest at Safeco Field, but left every indication that the deal is nearly done.
“I have to answer that in a roundabout way,” Bavasi said as he addressed fans, citing club policy not to speak specifically about negotiations. “I can talk about Weaver and talk about the process, and you can figure it out from there. We used to be able to announce free agent signings pending a physical, and if he didn’t pass the physical the deal was off. We don’t feel we can do that anymore. If there’s a problem and we’ve announced it … then we’d be stuck with him.
“That’s why we have to talk around a subject. Read between the lines on that one and you can figure it out.”
Instead, Bavasi spoke of getting “a Weaver” type pitcher and how it strengthens not only the starting rotation, but the bullpen as well.
Weaver would complete the Mariners’ five-man rotation – along with Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Horatio Ramirez and Miguel Batista – and send two pitchers who might have competed for the fifth spot, Cha Seung Baek and Jake Woods, into other roles.
“Getting somebody like a Weaver would improve that spot in the rotation, No. 1, and improve our depth, which would improve one or two spots as the year goes on if somebody would miss a start,” Bavasi said. “If we could get somebody like a Weaver, it would push these guys down or around him. Baek would go to the bullpen or Triple-A, Woods to the pen or Triple-A and be a guy who could be a seventh starter.”
Weaver, 30, finished last season with the St. Louis Cardinals, going 5-4 with a 5.18 earned run average in 15 starts. He became a solid part of the Cardinals’ postseason surge by winning three of his five starts, including Game 7 of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
The Cardinals had offered him a two-year contract, then last week reworked it into a one-year deal that Weaver’s agent, Scott Boras, had asked for.
The Mariners then came up with their deal and, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, offered guaranteed money that was significantly greater than what the Cardinals proposed.
The Cardinals, according to the Post-Dispatch, believed stepping up their offer to match the Mariners’ was too much for Weaver, considering his 8-14 combined record last season with the Anaheim Angels and Cardinals. The Mariners’ offer, the Post-Dispatch said, is more than double what the Cardinals will pay free agent Kip Wells ($4 million) and is greater than the $5 million salary they’re paying Mark Mulder this year.
In addition to his $8.325 million salary, the Post-Dispatch said Weaver will earn an additional $300,000 if he makes 28 starts or pitches at least 180 innings, $300,000 more if he pitches 190 innings or 30 starts, and an additional $400,000 for 200 innings or 32 starts.
Weaver has never had a major health issue in his nine-year major league career and has surpassed 200 innings four times. He averaged more than 198 innings the past three seasons.
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